Holding the future

Whatever the future holds, I know who holds the future
Whatever I will have to face, I know who has faced it before

Whatever temptations I will need to overcome, I know who has been tempted before me

He has been where I am going

He has felt what I will feel

He has heard what I will hear

He has seen what I will see

Nothing that I will have to deal with, has not already been dealt with

No challenges

No confrontations 

No demands

No threats

Have not already been experienced by the master

My way may seem dim and faintly lit to me

But is clearly visible to him

My experience may be like working with a broken sat-nav

He knows where he is going and which road to take

I can be so focused on the destination that I forget to enjoy the journey 

He lives in the moment every step of the way

I need to be still, to be quiet, to cease the constant activity

To be confident that I will be able to run my race, at the right pace and at the right time

And as I cross the finishing line hear him say 'well done"

Regret

He passed away, to no one's regret

2 Chronicles 21:20

He passed away

He ceased to breathe

His body now empty of all but flesh

The way of all the world had come his way

He had caused so much death, but now it had arrived on his doorstep 

In life as in death

Lonely and alone

No one cared

Not friend or child, not wife or lover

No one would miss him

People that had bowed at his footstool 

We're now glad that he had gone

His bucket had been truly kicked

He was dead and deadened 

He had been raised up but was now erased 

He had decreased and was now deceased 

He had gone off the rails and was now gone for good

He had no honour

No help in his affliction

No support in his misery 

He showed no remorse

No penitence

No apology

No admission of guilt

What then was his legacy?

He opposed the purpose of God

There would be no burial with the kings 

No one regretted his demise 

Fully human

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way

Hebrews 2:17

What does it mean to be fully human? Each society has to grapple with that question as it seeks to mould its various communities in an acceptable way. The answer to this question, whether explicitly or implicitly considered, will impact how societies develop. We only need to consider Nazi Germany in the thirties to realise that your view of what it is to be human can have profound and fundamental consequences.

The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus 'had' to be like us and that he was 'fully human in every way.' So, Jesus is fully God and fully human, we are not fully God, but we are fully human. There was no other option for Jesus to pursue, he became human, not for a short period but for all eternity, to fulfil his father's will

To be human is to:

• Exist in one place at one time
• Be made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc
• Be unable to cause yourself to come into existence 
• Be created from the DNA of a father and a mother
• Have various needs
• Oxygen
• Food
• Water
• Rest 
• Light
• Shelter
• Be loved by God
• Have intrinsic moral value
• Be part of a family / community
• To love and to love

To answer the question 'What is a Human Being?', has also been answered in various other ways

"An intelligence served by organs." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"But breath and shadow, nothing more." (Sophocles)

"The only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be." (William Hazlitt)

"The only animal that contemplates death, and also the only animal that shows any sign of doubt of its finality." (William Ernest Hocking)

"The only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve." (Erich Fromm)

"The only animal whose desires increase as they are fed; the only animal that is never satisfied." (Henry George)

If we want to know what it is to be human, the best way is to look at and learn from Jesus

Job

One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the heavens and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

Job1:13-20

The big question after all of Job's troubles was 'what would he say?' How would he respond to the calamity? What would be the overflow of his life in the midst of tragedy? The pain of loss would open his heart, what would seep out?

“Naked I came from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;

may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Job 1:20,21

His response came from a humble heart, one that had been shaped by his desire to walk with God in wholehearted devotion. Job does not dance around the difficult issues; he faces them head on. His faith is not a crutch to lean on, his faith points him to a person to lean on. We all need something to lean on, something to trust in difficult times, but rather than trust our faith we are to trust God. 

Still walking with God?

I met an old friend a few days ago, we were both attending a celebration service for a mutual friend who had died suddenly. I had not seen Rob for around twenty years; then he was quite an intense character who always spoke what was on his mind. He clearly hadn't changed much in this regard, with no preamble he dived straight in, "are you still walking with God?" It was a great question, one that got right to the crux of what he wanted to know. 

I met many other old friends that day, all asked about our family, where we were living, jobs and our church situation. Only Rob raised this most important topic, it wasn't that other things were unimportant to him, but he wanted to know the answer to this burning question. As I talked with Rob, he explained some of the background to his question. In recent years a number of Christians, including some leaders who he had deeply respected and admired had given up on their faith and had walked away from the church. Rob struggled to understand how this could happen and he was concerned that I had gone down the same route 

As we discussed this phenomenon, a number of others came to mind. One had been a gifted young leader who provoked the whole church to share their faith with others, he now no longer walked with God. Another had led the church in worship as a skilled and sensitive musician, his marriage had broken up and he no longer walked with God. A third led a dynamic mission organisation in south-east Asia, he left the Christian faith and embraced other religions, he died no longer walking with God

I answered Rob's question as honestly as I could, "yes, I am still trying to follow Jesus."  I Sometimes feel I am only just hanging on by my fingertips, but I continue to try to orientate my life around his. I could see that my answer encouraged Rob, he had feared the worst, but I had been able to give him the answer that he had hoped for

Look carefully, listen closely and give attention

Look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you.

Ezekiel 44:5

Peer and view carefully 

Survey and gaze attentively 

Behold and glimpse meticulously 

Observe and watch thoroughly 

Regard and scrutinise thoughtfully 

Hear and concentrate

Give heed and tune in

Hang on his words and take notice

Lend an ear and listen 

For God is imminent and adjacent 

So, don't just look, don't just listen, give careful attention

Consider and deliberate

Contemplate and ponder

Immerse and be engrossed 

Be diligent in your thoughtfulness 

As your eyes see and your ears hear

As you allow image and sound to illuminate your mind

As you focus clearly on what is said

You will have the understanding and clarity to respond

To speak with wisdom and authority 

You cannot give out that which hasn't been taken in

You cannot describe something that you haven't seen

Or explain if you are yet to hear

But when your attention is fully given

You will see and hear more than you ever thought possible 

Theological layers

Can the various, awful terrorist events over the past years be theologically explained by 'layers?'

1. People decide to do wicked things due to the fallenness of humanity. The implications are a random cycle of pain and heartache with no real explanation 
2. God is sovereign and will 'work all things together for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.'
3. Everything that happens is according to God's great plan, which is to bring glory to himself and to display his good nature in all of creation

All of these are 'true' at different levels of understanding and different layers of revelation. We do not need to pick which one we believe and discard the others because they seem to disagree. We can trust God in the seeming contradiction of these truths, knowing that one day 'we shall know fully even as we are fully known.' (1Cor 13:12) If this verse is true then we move from knowing in part to knowing fully as we see God face to face. An understanding of God's purpose in the world comes from a deepening revelation of God himself